Deck 8: Asian Americans: Model Minorities

Question 1

Which of the following statements is true of Asian American cultures?

A) Asian cultures do not stress sensitivity to the opinions and judgments of others.
B) Asian cultures predate the founding of the United States by centuries.
C) Asian cultures do not emphasize proper manners.
D) Asian cultures tend to be matriarchal.
E) Asian cultures do not place importance on group membership.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

The internal "city government" of various Chinatowns was called the ______.

A) Huiguan
B) Tongs
C) Clans
D) Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association
E) Chinese Community Development Association

Answer 2

D

Question 3

By 1910, which of the following Asian groups outnumbered the Chinese in the United States?

A) Filipinos
B) Japanese
C) Koreans
D) Vietnamese
E) Laotians

Answer 3

B

Question 4

The generation of immigrants born in Japan was called ______.

A) Nisei
B) Yosei
C) Issei
D) Sansei
E) Kibei

Question 5

In 1907, the "gentlemen's agreement" was signed between the United States and ______, limiting the number of laborers allowed to emigrate.

A) China
B) the Philippines
C) Japan
D) Korea
E) Vietnam

Question 6

According to the chapter text, in 1910, between 30% and 40% of all Japanese immigrants living in ______ were engaged in agriculture.

A) Washington
B) Oregon
C) California
D) Iowa
E) Montana

Question 7

By 1960, ______ had an occupational profile very similar to that of Whites, except for the fact that they were overrepresented among professionals.

A) Chinese Americans
B) Japanese Americans
C) Korean Americans
D) Filipino Americans
E) Native Hawaiians

Question 8

The grandchildren of second-generation Japanese Americans were called ______.

A) Sansei
B) Kibei
C) Nisei
D) Issei
E) Yonsei

Question 9

Which of the following statements is true?

A) Asian Americans are concentrated on the East Coast of the United States.
B) Asian Americans remain a largely rural population.
C) Asian Americans are more residentially segregated in comparison to other minority groups.
D) Asian Americans have levels of educational attainment similar to those of other minority groups.
E) Asian Americans are moving away from their traditional neighborhoods and enclaves.

Question 10

Secret societies called ______ contested the control and leadership of the merchant-led huiguan as well as clan associations present in Chinatown.

A) Yonsei
B) Issei
C) Hunan
D) tongs
E) Huiguan

Question 11

When comparing Asian and European immigrants, which of the following statements is true?

A) Chinese and Japanese immigrants arrived in a different time frame than immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe.
B) Only European immigrants encountered massive discrimination and rejection.
C) While Chinese and Japanese immigrants faced restrictive legislation, Southern and Eastern European immigrants did not.
D) Barriers for upward mobility for European immigrants fell away more slowly than the barriers for Asian immigrants.
E) Asian immigrants are described as model minorities.

Question 12

Which of the following statements about Chinese and Japanese immigrants is true?

A) Many of the occupational advances made by Chinese and Japanese Americans have been due to the high levels of education achieved by second-generation Asian Americans.
B) Chinese and Japanese Americans rank far below other racial minority groups on all commonly used measures of secondary structural integration.
C) Chinese and Japanese Americans entered the industrializing East Coast and Midwest economies.
D) Chinese and Japanese immigrants arrived in America at about the same time as immigrants from Northern and Western Europe.
E) Chinese and Japanese immigrants achieved economic growth through urban ethnic enclaves.

Question 13

Like ______ Americans, Chinese and Japanese Americans have used their traditional cultures and patterns of social life to create and build their own subcommunities, from which they have launched the next generation.

A) Cuban
B) Mexican
C) African
D) Vietnamese
E) Filipino

Question 14

Asian cultures, unlike Western cultures, tend not to stress ______.

A) excessive individualism
B) excessive shame
C) excessive obedience
D) their sensitivity toward the opinions of others
E) excessive offensiveness toward others

Question 15

The Chinese who immigrated to the United States in the 19th century were mostly ______.

A) older men
B) older women
C) younger men
D) younger women
E) families

Question 16

Which group established an ethnic enclave similar to that of Cubans?

A) Japanese
B) Chinese
C) Vietnamese
D) Filipinos
E) Indians

Question 17

Chinese immigrants' ability to find economic opportunity in areas with low competition with the dominant group allowed them to ______.

A) build coalitions with other minority groups
B) acculturate with little interference
C) enter the primary sector
D) develop ethnic enclaves based on agriculture
E) remain an "invisible" minority

Question 18

An important component of the Japanese ethnic enclave in the 1920s and 1930s was ______.

A) farming
B) college teaching positions
C) health care
D) control of unions representing farm
E) urban small businesses

Question 19

Which groups were sent to relocation camps during WWII?

A) Japanese Americans living in the western United States
B) all Japanese Americans, regardless of residence
C) only Japanese immigrants who were not U.S. citizens
D) all Asian Americans living on the West Coast
E) immigrants from all countries the United States was at war with, including Japanese, Italian, and German immigrants

Question 20

Which statement about Japanese Americans after WWII is true?

A) They did not rebuild their ethnic enclaves.
B) They moved into Chinatowns with other Asian Americans.
C) They rebuilt their economic enclaves through farming and gardening.
D) Most returned to Japan.
E) They returned to the predominantly rural areas they preferred.

Question 21

The most acculturated Asian American group is ______.

A) Indian Americans
B) Chinese Americans
C) Korean Americans
D) Vietnamese Americans
E) Japanese Americans

Question 22

The Burakumin were created centuries ago, when Japanese society was organized into a caste system based on ______.

A) religion
B) skin color
C) occupation
D) birthplace
E) educational attainment

Question 23

Research shows that native-born Asian Americans were ______ likely to marry outside their groups than foreign-born Asian Americans.

A) much less
B) slightly less
C) no more or no less
D) slightly more
E) much more

Question 24

______ are most likely to participate in interracial marriage.

A) Chinese Americans
B) Japanese Americans
C) Indian Americans
D) Korean Americans
E) Vietnamese Americans

Question 25

The notion that Asian Americans are a model minority ______.

A) has negative consequences
B) is benign
C) is true only for post-1965 immigrants
D) applies more to women than men
E) has a positive impact on race relations

Question 26

The proverb "the nail that sticks up must be hammered down" comes from ______.

A) China
B) India
C) Japan
D) Korea
E) the Philippines

Question 27

Ozawa v. U.S. was a 1922 Supreme Court decision that declared that ______.

A) Asians Americans must move to relocation camps
B) Asians were racially White
C) Asians were to be deported immediately
D) Asians were ineligible for U.S. citizenship
E) Asians were eligible for U.S. citizenship

Question 28

Vietnam is a former colony of which European nation?

A) Denmark
B) France
C) the Netherlands
D) Spain
E) Turkey

Question 29

An immigrant from Vietnam or Laos would likely be migrating to the United States ______.

A) to pursue economic opportunities
B) with substantial levels of social capital
C) as a political prisoner
D) for advanced education
E) as a refugee escaping war

Question 30

______ data is important for getting a better understanding of the variations in structural integration within the larger Asian American group.

A) Theorizing about
B) Disaggregating
C) Collecting
D) Analyzing
E) Combining

Question 31

Asian Americans, unlike other racial minority groups, have a ______ distribution within income categories.

A) concentrated
B) widespread
C) even
D) bipolar
E) unequal

Question 32

The relative success of Chinese Americans and Japanese Americans is often used as a device for ______.

A) understanding the effect of institutional discrimination
B) creating policies to support other minority groups
C) promoting assimilation
D) critiquing American values
E) erasing institutional racism

Question 33

Immigrants from India are ______.

A) at the "immigrant" end of Blauner's continuum
B) less likely to follow the traditional model of assimilation
C) overrepresented in the primary sector
D) at the "colonized" end of Blauner's continuum
E) more likely to have a "bipolar" experience of integration like the Chinese

Question 34

Explanations that attribute Asian Americans' success to their having better values and working harder than colonized groups are informed by ______.

A) intersectionality
B) human capital theory
C) the segmented assimilation perspective
D) the traditional model of assimilation
E) the culture of poverty theory

Question 35

The socioeconomic profile of immigrants from Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos is ______.

A) more consistent with America's colonized minority groups
B) on par with the profile of Asian Americans as a whole
C) similar to that of an enclave minority group
D) an example of the model minority stereotype
E) similar to the profile of an immigrant minority group

Question 36

Unlike the situation of African Americans in the 1600s and Mexican Americans in the 1800s, the dominant group had no desire to control the labor of Chinese and Japanese immigrants. This observation would most likely be made by which social theorist?

A) Weber
B) Noel
C) Lenski
D) Blauner
E) Marx

Question 37

Which theory can be used to best explain the success of contemporary immigrants from India?

A) Gordon's model of assimilation
B) intersectionality
C) Marxism
D) the Blauner hypothesis
E) the Noel hypothesis

Question 38

Model minority myths can ______ for Asian Americans who do not perform as well.

A) be a source of motivation
B) discourage help-seeking
C) erase institutional barriers
D) encourage teachers to develop support systems
E) decrease the likelihood of experiencing discrimination

Question 39

The sending nations of contemporary Asian immigrants are considerably less ______ than the United States.

A) equitable
B) diverse
C) hospitable
D) developed
E) safe

Question 40

Which of the following statements regarding the educational achievements of Asian Americans is true?

A) Asian Americans compare favorably with the society-wide standards for educational achievement and are above those standards on many measures.
B) The education achievements of Asian American groups vary; the men of most groups exceed national norms, but not as many women follow suit.
C) Only Asian American women exceed national norms; the men are much less educated.
D) Only Chinese, Vietnamese, and Japanese Americans exceed national norms.
E) Asian American groups do not succeed as much as other immigrant groups in education.

Question 41

More than 50% of Chinese Americans hold college and graduate degrees.

Question 42

It is helpful to consider Asian Americans as one group because they are similar in culture and language.

Question 43

World War II was important for Chinese Americans because they were forced out of their homes and jobs and moved to relocation centers.

Question 44

The Chinese Americans of today find no barriers on their way to the highest, most lucrative positions due to their high level of education.

Question 45

Because the Japanese, like other Asians, were not allowed to obtain U.S. citizenship, their land ownership was threatened by the Alien Land Act.

Question 46

In the same way that Chinese immigrants formed Chinatowns, Japanese immigrants settled primarily in urban enclaves.

Question 47

During World War II, the United States placed all citizens from enemy countries (Germans, Italians, and Japanese) into relocation camps.

Question 48

Some Japanese men left relocation camps by volunteering for military service and served in two of the most decorated units in American military history, while their families remained trapped behind barbed wire.

Question 49

According to the chapter text, all six major Asian groups have a higher percentage of high school graduates than non-Hispanic Whites.

Question 50

In relocation camps, first-generation Japanese immigrants regained their power of family decision-making.

Question 51

The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, one of the nation's first restrictive immigration laws, banned virtually all immigration from China for many years.

Question 52

The most recent immigrants to arrive in large numbers to the United States are Japanese and are seeking a less depressed economy.

Question 53

In the early 20th century, Chinese men outnumbered women by a ratio of 25 to 1 due to the Chinese Exclusion Act.

Question 54

For Asian American women, the desire to comply with the physical acculturation of beauty may result in cosmetic surgery.

Question 55

Confucianism, which was the dominant ethical and moral system in traditional Japan, had a powerful influence on many other Asian cultures.

Question 56

Chinese immigrants began to arrive to the United States in the early 1900s.

Question 57

Asian Americans in general are highly urbanized.

Question 58

Like their parents, second-generation Chinese Americans remained strictly loyal to their clans and regional associations.

Question 59

It was not until 1954 that the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that detention (i.e., of Japanese Americans) was unconstitutional.

Question 60

Compared to African Americans, Asian Americans are highly residentially segregated.

Question 61

Most Vietnamese Americans do not fit into one of Blauner's categories of "conquered or colonized." They have, however, had to adapt to American society with few resources and contacts.

Question 62

The percentage of all Asian Americans present in the highest income brackets is higher than the percentage of the total population present.

Question 63

Because the "model minority" stereotype is benign and positive, it does not have any serious negative consequences.

Question 64

The political power of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders is limited due to the high percentage of foreign-born members.

Question 65

Many of the less educated Chinese Americans are recent immigrants (many undocumented) and are part of the unskilled labor force.

Question 66

Japanese Americans, Filipino Americans, and Asian Indian Americans have poverty levels comparable to those of colonized racial minority groups.

Question 67

Asian Americans, like Hispanic Americans, are moving away from their "traditional" places of residence into new regions.

Question 68

Immigrants from India are at the "immigrant" end of Blauner's continuum.

Question 69

The structural explanation for Asian American "success" argues that Chinese and Japanese Americans had the opportunity to build their economies, while colonized groups were still trapped in paternalistic systems.

Question 70

Income per capita is lower than the national average for Asian Americans.

Question 71

Compare and contrast the early (pre-World War II) experiences of Japanese and Chinese Americans. How did the contact situations of these groups affect the development of their relations with the larger society?

Question 72

Characterize the contemporary situations of Asian Americans in terms of acculturation and integration. What caused the patterns you've identified? Apply the concepts of ethnic enclaves, the urban underclass, bipolar occupational structures, and the Blauner hypothesis.

Question 73

Asian Americans are widely considered successful in U.S. society. How accurate is this portrait of "model minorities?" Compare and contrast the cultural and structural explanations of the contemporary situations of Chinese and Japanese Americans.

Question 74

Does the history of Japanese and Chinese Americans provide any lessons for other minority groups? Have these groups found a "pathway to success" that could be followed by Native Americans, African Americans, or Hispanic Americans? Why or why not?

Question 75

What are some explanations for the lack of political power held by Asian Americans? What are some indications that this lack of political power might change soon?

Question 76

Explain how Asian Americans and their experiences are much more diverse than often thought.

Question 77

Explain how gender plays a role in the experiences of Asian Americans.

Question 78

Explain how the "model minority" stereotype may be harmful for Asian Americans and other minority groups.

Question 79

Chinese, Japanese, and Cuban Americans all first entered the American economy through developing ethnic enclaves. What processes within the contact situations for each of these groups led them to adopt this economic strategy? What differences exist between the enclaves, and how have they shaped the experiences of these groups over time?

Question 80

Examine the validity of the following statement: "The 'model minority' stereotype can prevent some Asian Americans from accessing the social, political, and economic support they need."